President John Taylor said on one occasion, speaking to the brethren of the priesthood:
‘If you do not magnify your callings,
God will hold you responsible
for those you might have saved,
had you done your duty.’
This is a challenging statement. If I by reason of sins of commission or omission lose what I might have had in the hereafter, I myself must suffer and, doubtless, my loved ones with me. But if I fail in my assignment as a bishop, a stake president, a mission president, or one of the General Authorities of the Church—if any of us fail to teach, lead, direct, and help to save those under our direction and within our jurisdiction, then the Lord will hold us responsible if they are lost as the result of our failure.
(Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, Oct. 1962, p. 84)